The Gard
by ILOVETOLKIEN
Summary: Charlotte, a strong and easygoing young elf, joins the Gard, a special branch of the Varden, whose main mission is to find Murtagh and end him. Her initial dream of defeating the 'bad guys' soon turns complex when a series of strange and unpredictable events occurs. What will she find when she delves into this world of danger? Love triangles, cliffhangers, and exciting revelations!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**This story started off just for fun, then it seemed appropriate to post it here. Hope you enjoy! Warning! Some of you may not like this: this story is a multi-fandom story. It contains character(s) from the Inheritance Cycle, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Vampire Diaries and is set in Alagaesia for the majority of the story. Also, the timing might not make sense, but it should still be fun.

Disclaimer: Any characters you do not recognize are mine, but everyone/thing else does not belong to me!

**Chapter 1**

"_Pit-pat pit-pat_" went the raindrops on the roof. The rain was complemented with bright flashes of blue-gold lightening, with booming thunderclaps added into the stormy melange. Charlotte went up to the window and examined the skies. She sighed, thinking, "It was supposed to shine today. Now I can't take that walk through the forest anymore." It was these days she did not fancy. In fact, they bothered her. The storm was not rare, yet it was not quite a common occurrence either.

_That day_ had been like this too. The sky had been shrouded up in dark clouds, accompanied by constant heavy downpours, with not a sign of the sun. It was a Friday in May, 6 years ago, when she was 22. She had been having the time of her life with her then-boyfriend, Sean. She had met Sean in military college, at the RMC. He was a very handsome man, with a great sense of humour as well, which resulted in him having dozens and dozens of women craving his attention. His raven-coloured hair was usually messily strewn about, yet it seemed to have been put that way _on purpose. _It was more like it was styled that way. Many a gorgeous afternoon day, she had stroked his hair admiringly as they told each other stories of their lives, joked together, watched great movies together, and had picnics together. His hair reminded her of a room of chaos, scorched and marred by flames, only to realize that the flames were actually elegant and graceful. He had an impeccable physique too, which was expected from one of the top graduates of the RMC. His oasis-blue eyes always seemed to have so much depth and understanding in them. He was also a kind guy who was always willing to help others. He had seemed like the perfect guy… until one night, when he got too drunk at the bar. He was at the bar, downing and refilling the alcohol glasses over and over again. Charlotte was looking for him, as he had seemed very upset before, and when she found him, he was already in a very drunken state. She had said, "Sean. This is enough. Let's just talk it out, okay? Sean?"

Sean just looked at her with sad, downcast eyes and said, "I don't want to say it. I'm afraid it'll just make it worse." L

Charlotte touched his arm affectionately and said, "Here. Let's go home and get you all cleaned up. Look, you've got wine on your shirt." She tried pulling him towards the exit.

Then Sean just suddenly exploded. "NO! You don't understand!" and pushed her away roughly. She fell to the ground. Charlotte got up and said, "Hey! Why don't you just TALK to me for once? Huh? Instead of just hiding everything from me. I'm your girlfriend. I'm supposed to know some of this stuff, aren't I?!" and pushed him back. Sean looked livid at being pushed, his emotions heightened over the effects of the drink, and said, "I CAN'T! After everything- no, this just isn't something I can do," and tried to kick her to the ground with a swift move.

Charlotte braced herself for the kick. For some reason, her muscles just froze up and didn't move to react to the kick. Normally, her martial arts skills would have enabled her to dodge, or to retaliate, but with Sean, she just couldn't do it. She didn't want to hurt him. However, the kick never came. She looked up to see another young man hold Sean's foot with his hand. The man was blond. He said menacingly and protectively, "Dare to hurt her again, and tomorrow, your pain will not be limited to your severe hangover."

Sean said, bewildered, "Who are you?" Then he looked at Charlotte and said, "You and him… you don't have a thing, do you?" He wore an expression of utter disbelief and betrayal.

Charlotte was quick to deny it. "What?! No! No! Just NO! And who are you to do the accusing anyway?"

The stranger just took Charlotte's hand and said, "Let's go."

Charlotte looked torn, like she was about to protest, but went along with the man, giving Sean a sad look.

Charlotte turned to the man. "Thank you, that was really good of you to do that."

The man said, "No, don't thank me. I just hate seeing that happen. Anyway-"

Charlotte's flashback was cut short by an impatient rap on her front door. Slightly disoriented, Charlotte shook her head quickly, as if to clear it, and shouted, "Coming!"

When she opened the door, her gaze was met by an annoyed-looking Caroline. "Ex-cuuse me! Do you know how long I've been knocking at your door?" Caroline said, raising her eyebrows.

Charlotte said, "Hey Care, sorry. I was kinda distracted by the rain. You know, it gets kinda loud sometimes."

Caroline's expression instantly changed to one of sympathy. "That again?" she asked, and gave Charlotte a supportive squeeze on the shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.

Charlotte said, "Yeah, I'm fine. They're just a bunch of thoughts after all. Six-year-old thoughts at that."

"Awww, you," Caroline said, and hugged her tightly. Then she pulled back and wore a feisty expression. "Look what I brought," she said in a sing-songy voice. She pulled out a bottle of wine out of her bag.

"Ooh, yum," said Charlotte, with an excited smile. "What's the occasion?"

Caroline questioned, "Hmm… must there be an occasion to have wine?" and winked. Then more seriously, she said, "Actually, there is. You know that special division we applied for a couple weeks back? Guess what? WE GOT IN!"

"OH MY GOD, YES!" Charlotte yelled. She was so happy. Her huge smile was replicated on Caroline's face. They linked hands and did a silly little dance together, out of pure joy.

The special division they had applied for was for people whose job was to fight against evil supernatural forces, and bring them down. A few years ago, a little after she became an elf, Charlotte realized that a lot of the world's havoc was actually wreaked by supernatural creatures. As someone who knew about them, as well as someone who wanted to help improve the world, she jumped at the idea.

The two girls spent the evening happily chatting about what jobs they would receive, what missions they would be responsible for, how many people they would help, how well they would defeat the 'baddies', and how much of a difference they would be able to make on the world, little by little.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Is this the right turn?" Caroline asked, looking around anxiously.

Charlotte looked at her map, and said, "Yeah, it should be the one. We've just turned onto Oak Street. The address says 645 Oak Street, and right now, we just passed by 449 Oak Street… which means that we should be there in a few minutes.

Caroline said, "Okay," and continued driving. Then, she turned her head to Charlotte for a brief moment and asked nervously, "What do you think it's gonna be like? I mean, the interviews we had were intense!"

Charlotte answered, "Yeah, it's probably gonna be all intense… but we'll be fine. I mean, think of all the things we've done so far. I mean, we're not exactly damsels in distress," and gave Caroline a grin.

Caroline let out a short amused laugh, and then stopped the car, parking it perfectly. "We're here."

There was an old building in front of them. The state of disrepair looked like nobody had been in there in ages. Charlotte said, "Wow, this place _really_ needs a reno."

"Uh-huh… yeah" Caroline said wholeheartedly, raising her eyebrows, as if in disbelief that this was the building they were supposed to meet their employers at. "Are you sure we got it right? This looks like one of those places where-"

Caroline was cut off by a sudden boom that sounded from inside the archaic building. The doors opened, and a man walked down the steps toward them. He had a serious, grave demeanor about him. He seemed too world-weary for someone who looked only in his mid-to-late twenties. It was the look of hardened grief that someone a decade older might have. As he stepped closer, Charlotte noticed that he had the most captivating eyes. One was dark brown and the other, a grey-blue. He was attractive, but in a modest way. He didn't seem like the type of guy who would boast about his looks, or shamelessly use them to take advantage of others.

"Are you Charlotte and Caroline?" he questioned them.

"Yes!" they answered.

"Hi, I'm Durik. It's nice to meet you," he said, outstretching his hand to Charlotte first, and then to Caroline. They shook hands.

"Please follow me," Durik said, leading the way into the building.

Charlotte exchanged a 'this is it' glance with Caroline, who took a deep breath.

They walked into a great hall. It was so entrancing. The outside had looked so shabby and unkempt, but not so the inside. The interior was rich and elegant. The designs were elaborate, in a breathtaking way. It seemed to be the work from a past era, a forgotten era. As they walked, they saw a few people here and there working. There were people reading files, collaborating and sharing ideas with one another, working on computers, and practicing fighting.

"Whoa," Charlotte thought. It was so cool! She thought, "This is a legit secret organization!" She felt so excited!

Then Durik turned around and said, "This is the Gard. It is a special division of our mother organization, which is called the Varden. This division is more modernized and it has set off on a different direction, but we are still a part of the Varden, so ultimately, we are the Varden as well. I am the leader of the Gard."

* * *

Charlotte was unpacking her bags in a room. They had been told previously to bring everything they would want to bring with them, as they would be away from home for quite a while. She was sharing a room with Caroline. It was a rather large room, and there was plenty of space for two people. There was even a little division in the wall, which made it feel more like two separate rooms that were connected, instead of just one room.

"Sooo," Caroline said, "what did you think of that Durik guy?"

Charlotte said, "He seems like a good leader. I wonder what made him so world-weary though. He probably has a dark past."

Caroline said, "Yeah," sympathetically, and then changed her tone, "But what I meant was… what a hottie… don't you think?" and grinned.

Charlotte laughed and said, "Yeah, what a stud! But he's our boss though. Don't you think it would be inappropriate?"

"Inappropriate? To think? Or something else…? 'Cause I didn't say anything else, you're the one who just turned this whole thing down toward the gutter," and grinned mischievously.

Charlotte smiled, shaking her head at her friend. "Maybe…" Charlotte said, but right now, her mind became occupied with memories of that mysterious stranger who had saved her from that kick six years ago. She had never seen him again, but she couldn't just erase her memories of him. She was so grateful to him; it was such an unexpected but kind act, and she was just enthralled by him. She thought, "It's pathetic to be in love with someone you don't even know. You can't just waste your years thinking about somebody you probably won't ever meet again."

"C'mon, I think you two would look so cute together," Caroline said.

Charlotte asked, "Awww. But what about you? You're single too, and you seem interested in him."

Caroline said, "Nah, he's hot, but he's not really my type."

Charlotte grinned and said evilly, "Ohh yeah, that's right. He's not murderous but caring, powerful but vulnerable, or anything like that, right?"

Caroline said, "Hey!" and threw a pillow at her.

Charlotte threw another pillow at Caroline and they had a short pillow fight, until they realized they should be acting more mature.

"HM," Charlotte cleared her throat, and they both exploded in fits of laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"ALEX!" a man's agonized voice sounded through the Gard headquarters. "OPEN UP!"

The racket jolted Charlotte awake. She sat up straight on her bed. She saw that Caroline was already out of bed. She got out of bed as well. She quickly put on a jacket and headed out to investigate. She saw Durik quickly run to the door. He looked into the peephole for half a second, and then opened the door, yelling "ATTACKERS INCOMING!" He motioned to the agents downstairs, who were stationed with guns, arrows, and knives.

He quickly brought the man inside and steered him to a safe area. The man looked disoriented and he was breathing heavily. He leaned on Durik for support, and his legs kept buckling. Durik laid him down gently on the ground and ran back towards the fight.

He picked up a bow and started shooting. Charlotte saw that his aim was extremely accurate. At times, he launched two arrows at once, with impressive skill. There still seemed to be at least about 60 enemy soldiers, against the Gard, which had only about 20. She quickly picked up her gun, and started shooting as she came downstairs. She had taken down 11 soldiers, when someone struck her hard from behind. The edges of her vision started to grow fuzzy, but she managed to deliver a back kick to the attacker. She then turned around and saw that he had taken out a knife. Before he could make use of the opportunity, she shot him expertly in the heart. She saw Caroline cry out in pain, and ran to help her. She had been shot several times, but she was still breaking necks and twisting arms. Charlotte tripped one of Caroline's attackers, shot him, then instinctively dodged a punch from another attacker. She tried to shoot him in the head, but she realized she had run out of bullets. In that split second, the woman took advantage of Charlotte's pause, and attempted to stab her with a jagged blade. Charlotte was caught off guard, but tried to dodge as best she could. Luckily, Caroline saw this and snapped the woman's neck with vampire speed.

Charlotte released a quick sigh of relief, and went to take on another attacker. The battle didn't last much longer. It was over in ten more minutes. Durik sent a team to dispose of their dead enemies, and went to examine the state of everyone's injuries. "Caroline!" he called. "I know what you are capable of. We have seven people you must heal. Or else they will die within minutes."

He led her to those people, and Caroline rushed to feed them her blood. She then went on to heal everybody else. Charlotte said "Thanks, Care," when she healed her. She felt so much better. She had obtained a fair share of bruises, as well as a deep cut. It was amazing how fast the vampire blood healed her.

Caroline looked around to see if anyone else was in need of her help. She looked to Durik, who had gone to the man who had knocked on the door. Caroline called, "Durik, do you need my blood too?"

Caroline ran to him, and Charlotte followed her. She was curious to see this man who had brought so much danger to them. The Gard had suffered three casualties in that skirmish.

The man's shirt was bloodstained, and he had a dark streak of blood running down the side of his head, continuing down his neck. His dark hair was matted with blood. Charlotte said reassuringly, "Hey, we have someone who can heal you up."

Caroline finished healing Durik and looked at the man. She slowly dropped to her knees, her wide eyes transfixed upon his face. "K-Klaus?" she stammered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Charlotte turned to Caroline, shocked. "This is Klaus?!"

Caroline nodded slowly. She was still frozen in shock. A moment later, she turned frantic and asked Durik, "What's happened to him? Where is he hurt? Klaus, wake up! That's an order! You don't just leave for a few years, and then show up like this!" and started nudging him. "Just a second- you're gonna be fine- I'm gonna just-," and bit into her wrist. Her blood started flowing and she immediately used it to feed Klaus.

"Drink," she ordered him. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then suddenly, Klaus started coughing. Caroline looked relieved that he woke up. He coughed up all the blood that she fed him, and said, "Caroline. What are you doing here? I must be hallucinating."

Caroline said, "No, you're not. I'm here. I can explain the details later, but I've joined this organization.

Klaus looked surprised. "You're with the Gard?"

Caroline looked puzzled, "You know the Gard?"

Durik spoke up and said, "Klaus is my second-in-command. He's been with us for years."

Charlotte and Caroline were both struck by surprise. Caroline questioned, "What?! Really?" in disbelief. Then she looked at the blood that he coughed up. "Klaus, you have to drink my blood to get better. But why aren't you healing?"

"Marcel's witches. There were still a few left who are actually loyal to him," Klaus said bitterly. "They tricked me and trapped me. They fed me a potion that would stop my blood from acting as an antidote to my werewolf venom for three days, and then one of them -one of them could somehow _control_ me into biting my own arm. I managed to escape, but there were about ninety on my trail. Normally, it wouldn't have been much of a problem, just an annoyance, but with the venom taking effect, you see, I was slowed down, and they were able to inflict a few injuries on me. I don't know why the injuries aren't healing though. Bloody witches. They must have done something else too."

Caroline asked, "How long has it been since your bite?"

"This is the second day." Klaus had some bitterness, but there was also fear. He looked like he was trying to hide it, but she could see it. She could always see what he was feeling. She felt an urge to comfort him.

She said, "Okay, a normal vampire would die in about two days. But you're Klaus! Your age and power must have some effect! Maybe you'll last longer! More than three days! And until those days are up, we'll heal you the old fashioned way, and then you'll be fine, okay?"

Klaus looked at her and looked a little touched at her concern. "Okay, love," he said.

* * *

Later, Charlotte went to Durik to ask him a question. "Why did Klaus say 'Alex'?"

Durik turned his head abruptly, "Alex? When?"

Charlotte replied, "When he was asking for the door to be opened."

Durik said, a bit warily, "Ah, that. Well, I am Alex. It was an alias I used a couple years ago, when I went to New Orleans and met Klaus for the first time. I guess old names are hard to drop."

"Whoa, alias? That's cool."

Durik said, "Well, aliases are necessary in dangerous situations, when your name could be traced back to you."

Charlotte grew curious and asked, "So you and Klaus seem close. How did you two become friends?" She wanted to know because from what she had heard from Care, he was the murderous type who didn't have any friends, well, none aside from Caroline anyway.

Durik's face filled with a hint of nostalgia as he thought back. He said, "I was working on Marcel's case in New Orleans. The way he made rules and killed anyone who didn't follow his strict rules didn't sit well with us. Klaus was also working to take Marcel down. Once, I was in trouble. One of his most powerful witches… a young girl, Davina, revealed to Marcel that I was planning to take him down. As a witch prodigy and possibly even something more, she saw everything. I was on the brink of death when Klaus and his own army stepped in. They attacked, and managed to defeat Marcel. I was in his debt. Another time, Klaus was in trouble. The witch Davina was trying to destroy Klaus for the deaths of many other witches. I stepped in and reasoned with her, calmed her down. I gave her an alternative that she accepted. And from then on, we spent some good times together. I guess we just understood each other somehow. And even though we also had a few … rough patches, you see, Klaus isn't exactly a sweet angelic figure… he's a dick," Durik laughed, "we became good friends. "

* * *

The next morning, Durik held a meeting. Everyone was to attend, except for Caroline and Klaus. They were excused. He announced, "Everyone, I have received orders from the Varden. They want us to drop the missions we have right now, as we do not have any huge ones at the moment, and concentrate all our efforts on our new mission: killing Murtagh. For Charlotte, since you do not yet know who he is, I'll tell you."

"Murtagh," he continued with an expression of extreme distaste, "is a filthy traitor to the Varden. He's a monster, a mass murderer of innocent, good people." People have argued that he is only committing these acts because of the strong control that an evil king named Galbatorix has on him… but not all of his crimes can be explained away with that, I assure you. Besides, because of his acts, intentional or not, he is way too dangerous a person to be kept alive. And before you argue that the control the king has must be broken, that is way too difficult to do. He has a dragon as well. That's where he makes the difference. If he was just any other servant of the king, he could easily be replaced with someone else upon his death, but that is not the case. Eragon, his half-brother and honorary member of the Varden, is the only other dragonrider at the moment. Other than him, there is only one other egg that is unhatched. Taking Murtagh out would be of great help to the rest of the Varden, who can then put their efforts to focusing on Galbatorix."

He paused for a while, and continued, "Murtagh is not a foe to be taken lightly. He is extremely powerful, what with his fighting skills and magical enhancements that he has received. However, do not lose hope. The Gard is strong. We are elites. We have people, powers that will be unfamiliar to them. They will not know how to fight effectively against us. We can put Murtagh to justice! I believe in us. THE GARD!"

The agents cheered! "The GARD!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"How is he?" asked Charlotte, peeking into Caroline's part of their room. Caroline had brought Klaus there, and he was now resting on her bed.

"Not good," Caroline answered in a very concerned tone. "Thankfully, I treated him for infections, and he shouldn't die of his injuries, but then there's his venom being used against him… and he's burning up, and he keeps having hallucinations… about his dad." Caroline grew sad when she said the last part.

"I just don't want him to have to feel that pain again," Caroline whispered in a tiny voice, seemingly to herself.

Charlotte decided to leave her alone with him, so she said a few words of comfort to her friend, and parted.

She went downstairs and met with the group. They discussed the details of their mission. It would happen three weeks from now. Until the end of the second week, they would recruit as many skilled members as possible. Then on the first day of the third week, with the help of the Varden's psychic, they would teleport to one of the Varden's hideout bases, which was situated near where Murtagh would be. They had received intel that Murtagh would be away from the palace that week. He would be away on a mission to take over another city. They would attack him then, and end him.

They then laid out maps to go over their battle strategies. It was a long day. They trained for hours and hours, and when they weren't training, they researched information on any weaknesses Murtagh might have, or any special tricks they could use against him. They also assessed risks, and made backup plans.

A younger girl named Alana asked Charlotte, "Is Klaus okay?"

Charlotte said, "I haven't checked on him in a while. I'll check now, alright?"

When Charlotte went into her room, she heard Klaus grunt in pain. She went over to Caroline's side of the room. She was helping him up. He seemed much better. His skin tone was a lot less grey and unhealthy-looking. His injuries also seemed to have healed a fair amount.

"Are you okay, Klaus?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm fine. A lot better," Klaus said curtly. Charlotte guessed that he wasn't used to people seeing his vulnerable side, and felt embarrassed about it, so she said, "That's good. Care, call me if you need any help or anything. I'll just go back and return to practice. See you guys."

When Charlotte told Alana the good news, she seemed very relieved. In fact, she told everyone, and they all seemed relieved. "How great, Klaus is loved by all these people!" she thought, knowing Klaus' backstory.

Worn out from a long day, Charlotte went up to bed. Within seconds, she fell asleep. That night, she had vivid dreams. The sky was a bright purple-red, and she was standing in the middle of a green meadow. It was very peaceful. As she walked, she stroked the long grass with her fingers. She looked around and she saw a blond figure who was doing the same thing as her. He was walking along with a happy, carefree smile planted on his face. She slowly walked toward him. She said, "Hi there."

He looked at her, and jumped a little. "Whoa!"

"Sorry to scare you there," Charlotte laughed.

The boy laughed too. "It's fine, I just didn't expect you. Usually, no one shows up."

Charlotte was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

The boy said, "Never mind that. It probably wouldn't make much sense anyway… what's your name?"

Charlotte answered, "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

The boy said, "Come on, I asked first!"

Charlotte said, "Alright, fair enough. I'm Charlotte."

"Charlotte… I've never heard that name before, but it's really beautiful."

Charlotte's cheeked turned rosy at the sudden compliment.

"I'm Eragon," the boy told her.

"Eragon? That's an interesting name. I've never heard _your_ name either, but it's a cool name."

"Thanks," Eragon smiled. His face suddenly lit up and he said, "Do you like the ocean?"

Charlotte replied, "Yeah! Totally, it's so beautiful."

At that, their surroundings changed and she found herself at a beach. The temperature was very nice. It was warm, but not too warm. It was evening, and the sky was crimson. The waves were going in and out very softly and rhythmically. It was the epitome of tranquility.

Charlotte gasped, "Wow, this place is so beautiful!"

Eragon said, "Yeah, it is. We should go and swim. What do you say?"

Charlotte thought it was absurd, swimming with some guy she had only just met, but heck, it was just a dream, right? She was going to politely decline, when she looked at the water again. The colour of the ocean was a beautiful pale blue, and more importantly, it looked clean. It was too inviting to resist.

"Sure!" Charlotte said, and then got an idea. "Race you!" she called, and started running to the water.

Eragon sprinted after her. He was surprisingly fast. As an elf, she was usually able to beat most people, but he was hard to beat. Still, she was able to stay in front of him by a hairline. Eragon suddenly said, "Hey, who is that?" and came to a halt.

Charlotte stopped too. She ran towards him and asked, "Where?"

Eragon had a worried expression on his face. "Over there," he said, pointing to the left. Charlotte looked in that direction. "What do you mean? I don't see any… Eragon?!" He wasn't next to her anymore. She was slightly alarmed and confused for a moment. Then, she saw him already in the water, smiling widely at her.

"You cheater!" she cried as she ran after him. Eragon started laughing as she made her way over. Charlotte pushed a wave of water at him with her arm. She laughed as he sputtered, not expecting the wave.

"Oh yeah?" he said as he squirted water at her face. Charlotte laughed. Then she flutterkicked away from him, kicking as hard as she could. She was having so much fun. Then, a moment later, she saw Eragon next to her, swimming. He was catching up, and now, he was ahead of her!

"Hey, how'd you get here so fast? I even kicked water at you for good measure!" Charlotte joked.

Eragon smiled, and shrugged. "I swim a lot. I find it relaxing, and it relieves a lot of stress too."

"Do you have a lot of stress?" Charlotte asked him.

"Yeah… but this is the first time in a _long_ time that I've had this much fun. Thank you for that."

Charlotte said, "No problem. I had fun too. The pleasure was mine."

Charlotte woke up from her dream. She felt disappointed that it was cut short. She was having so much fun, especially after the past few days, which had been long and stressful.

Then, she remembered something. The guy's name was Eragon! The same guy as the half-brother of Murtagh, and honorary member of the Varden! She thought, "I can't believe I imagined someone I don't even know. Does he actually look the way he did in my dream? Or was he just a figment of my imagination, someone who doesn't actually exist in real life, but he just happens to have the name Eragon? That was the most likely answer, she thought. Durik had talked briefly about Eragon before. That was completely feasible. She suddenly became curious about Eragon of the Varden. At least now that she was an agent of the Gard, there was a chance she could meet him, especially since she was going to go to Alagaesia, his world, shortly. She couldn't wait to meet him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Durik called for a group meeting the next morning. He asked, "Has anyone recruited anyone yet? Remember, we'll stand a better chance with greater numbers."

An agent named Liam said, "Yes, sir! I have recruited one of my closest friends. He has always wanted to be in some kind of special military unit, but he has been suspended indefinitely from his unit. Don't worry though, the reason he was suspended wasn't because he was either a troublemaker or an inadequate agent. It's just that in that division, people are too power hungry, and people try to make each other look bad in front of the boss. My friend Steve was unfortunately framed for a crime by his colleague."

"That's very good, Liam. Good work," Durik flashed him a proud smile. "Does anyone have any new recruits?"

Caroline piped up, "Yes, sir. I have brought in a friend. His name is Damon Salvatore and he is also a vampire like me. I believe that his healing blood, as well as his fighting abilities, will benefit the Gard."

Durik praised her and listened as six other agents told him of their new recruits. He warmly praised every single one of them.

Two hours later, all of the new recruits were brought in to the Gard Headquarters, and Durik called a meeting where he addressed every one of them and introduced everyone to the new recruits.

He then asked two of the older members to orient the new members to the headquarters, and to show them their rooms.

Charlotte saw that this Damon Salvatore had a very bad boy look, and he was very handsome. Devilishly handsome. However, he seemed to be a decent person, from what she had heard from Caroline. He was very cool and she felt the desire to strike up a friendship with him. "We'd probably have really good bromance," Charlotte thought.

* * *

A few hours later, Durik called another meeting. When everyone gathered to the centre of the room, he announced, "There has been a big change to our plan… I have just received fresh new intel from the Varden. Eragon has requested to the leader of the Varden that Murtagh not be killed, but merely captured instead." Durik looked extremely displeased in delivering this information. "However," he continued, "We are to interrogate him about Galbatorix's plans, and if he does not comply, we have permission to use torture methods on him." Durik wore a sick expression of twisted satisfaction at that for a brief second, and then composed himself instantly.

That expression slightly scared Charlotte. She had not seen that side of Durik before.

Damon spoke up, "Do you have a personal grudge against this Murtagh? You seem _very_ annoyed."

Durik raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes… my brother died by Murtagh's hand." He looked as if he was putting a lot of effort into controlling his emotions as a leader, but he seemed like he wanted to get a knife and plunge it into Murtagh's heart, or at least a dummy.

Damon looked more sympathetic than Charlotte expected, and he said, "Then let's torture the hell out of this bitch."

Durik looked at Damon with an amused glint in his eye, and gave him a genuine smile. "That's what I'm talking about."

* * *

That night, Charlotte had another dream. She was not in the field today. Instead, she was sitting under the biggest tree she had ever seen. The roots looked like they stretched for miles and miles. The sparse vegetation on the trees provided cool shade for miles.

"Hello, it's nice to see you again," Eragon spoke from behind her. Charlotte turned and said, "Hey! Eragon, I'm happy to see you too! This is a beautiful tree, by the way."

"It is, isn't it?" Eragon beamed.

"Yeah, it's epic."

Eragon said, "I know you might think me strange for doing this, but I named the tree."

"You _named_ a tree?"

"Yeah," he said. "I named it not because I wanted to state that I had some kind of ownership over it or anything. I did it just so that I could refer to it, instead of having to describe its qualities every time I speak of it."

Charlotte said, "I get that. It's not weird at all actually, now that I think about it." She loved how he had so much respect for the tree. He wasn't one of those douches who had no respect for nature whatsoever, and mistreated trees.

Eragon said, "Whenever I see this tree, I have so much respect for it, the way it survived all these years without dying. It must have had plenty of strength, fortitude, perseverance, luck, and even charm to overcome the great feat of enduring this long. I love this tree. I named it Arla."

"Arla? That's an interesting, unique name. I like it!" she said with a warm grin.

"Thank you," Eragon said.

They spent the rest of the dream lying at the base of the tree and exchanging stories about their lives when they were children.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Today was the day the psychic was set to arrive. Charlotte was so excited. She would get to go to another _world!_ How exciting and interesting would that be?!

"Gather around, everybody," Durik called, gesturing for everybody to come to the centre of the meeting room. "The psychic of the Varden, Annika, will be arriving in ten minutes. Brace yourselves, and if there is anything that you forgot to pack, you can quickly go do it now. But be back at least by the eight- minute mark."

* * *

Suddenly, a blond girl appeared at the centre of the room. She had exquisite green eyes that gave her an enigmatic impression. "Hey, friends! I'm Annika, and I'm happy to meet you all!" she smiled widely.

Charlotte thought, "There goes that enigmatic impression."

Durik approached her with a smile that lit up his whole face. Charlotte had not seen him this happy before. "So he's not always depressed!" she thought.

Durik gave her a warm hug and she suddenly took his face in her hands and kissed him hard on the lips. Many of the agents looked surprised, and had wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Durik seemed surprised, but he kissed her back passionately.

Charlotte felt an odd feeling of unease. "Jealousy?" she asked herself. "No, it couldn't be," she thought, banishing away the thought. "I don't like him in _that _way. If it is jealousy, it's probably because of how great their relationship seems."

Caroline took note of Charlotte's reaction, and looked disappointed at the kiss. Charlotte knew why. Caroline had not made a secret of how much she "shipped" Charlotte and Durik as a potential couple.

"Anyway," Annika said, "let's travel. Woohoo!"

She told everyone to hold hands. Everyone had to be connected by human contact. She held Durik and Damon's hands and teleported them to Alagaesia.

* * *

When they arrived, Charlotte found herself in what looked like the countryside. It was strange though. It looked as if it was set centuries back. It was interesting because she had always wanted to go to a world that was more old-fashioned than hers, just to see what it would be like. Also, so many interesting stories seemed to take place in the past, or in past-themed settings.

Everyone was looking around, trying to take in every inch of the place. Fascination and curiosity captured everyone's hearts.

Annika pointed to a big hill, where there were several cottages. She told them, "This is where you'll be staying. It's not exactly like a five star hotel, but it's cozy."

They all got settled in, and Durik quelled down everyone's excitement about the new setting by saying, "I know you are all excited about being here. I'm sure it's incredibly interesting, and I'm sorry to cut you short on your excitement, I really am. But right now, our main goal is completing our mission. Tomorrow, I have intel that Murtagh is going to be in the edge of Surda. We are going to ambush him, and send fifteen of us to herd him from all sides, in circle formation. Then, the remaining eight of us will be positioned with sniper rifles on high ground, ready to shoot any of Murtagh's men, if he brings any. Remember, you can't kill Murtagh or Thorn. You can hurt Murtagh, but if you shoot him, you've got to make sure it's on a non-fatal place, alright?"

"YES, SIR!"

* * *

"Bitch," Damon cursed when a soldier stuck a knife in his gut. He took it out and stuck it up the soldier's neck.

It was the middle of the ambush. Murtagh and his men didn't see them coming, so they had surprise on their side. It helped them take down many men at first, but soon, the fight became harder for the Gard. Murtagh had five times the amount of men as they did, and he himself was a very good fighter.

Klaus was fighting very well. He alone had already taken down fifty of Murtagh's men. Along with many other agents, he had also separated Thorn from Murtagh, incapacitated him, and tied him up. Despite this, it was a tough battle, as many of Murtagh's men were elites. Things were looking hopeless for the Gard. Durik fought hard, but he couldn't help but despair when he saw his fallen comrades. Almost half of them had fallen. He let out a cry of pain and rage, attacking a soldier fiercely as he did. He took down soldiers skillfully and edged his way toward his target: Murtagh.

Charlotte just decapitated a soldier, and saw that Murtagh was in close range now. He was fighting against Alana at the moment. It looked like he was mere seconds from making quick work of her with his sword. Acting quickly, Charlotte kicked him from behind. She didn't want young Alana dead too. He dodged the kick, but in a speedy move, she took his arm, twisted it, and flung him at a tree. There was a loud thud, and a few leaves fell as the branches quivered. Murtagh fell, disoriented. However, he recovered quickly. He raised his sword and raised it over his head. In a swift strike, he made a move to bring it down upon Charlotte's head. She had no sword at the moment. The only thing she had then was a gun, so she instinctively protected herself with it, acting as if it were a sword, parrying. His sword strike had so much force behind it that her gun split in two. Charlotte threw it down. It would be better to rely on her quick moves. She was trained at hand-to-hand combat, after all. The gun was useless, since it wouldn't work anyway, and it would just bring her down.

Murtagh attempted another swipe at Charlotte, but mid-swipe, he stopped. Charlotte looked at him, wondering what the reason for his halting was. She wondered if someone had stabbed him in the back, or if someone had sniped him. However, he showed no signs of a new injury. He dropped his sword, but he didn't even seem to notice his defenceless state. He just suddenly looked captivated by her and tears started to well up in his eyes. He choked up and muttered a single word: "You?"

Charlotte was deeply puzzled. "What did he mean? Did he think he knew me? Surely, he must have mistaken me for someone else. I had never seen him in my life. Was I a doppelganger, like Caroline's friend, Elena?

Before she had time to say something, a figure whizzed from behind her, and daggered Murtagh in the leg. "There, he won't be able to run away now," Damon said, before rendering Murtagh unconscious with a swift blow to the head.


End file.
